MidSummer Night's Breeze
by Sonic Rose
Summary: Yet more follow-up to Little Things and the Flirting Shadow series. This story jumps to various characters both Canon and fan made.
1. Checking In

Somewhere in the warm summer night, the stars twinkled, and a pleasant breeze drifted on a predestined path and blew through the quills of hedgehogs and foxes, echidnas and humans. On Mobius, it first touched the quills of an orange hedgehog and his midnight-colored mate. It drew a smile from the pair, who sat on a swinging porch chair as they watched the stars appear one by one. In their laps lay twin hedgehog pups; the boy was a deep gray with orange highlights and the girl was gray with sky blue, and though their eyes were closed they were both the color of rubies.

The midnight hedgehog leaned against the orange one lightly, shoulder to shoulder, smiling. "I love you, Chase."

He nuzzled against her ear and whispered softly, "I love you too, Maria." He put an arm across her shoulder while his free hand lightly stroked the fine fur of their daughter's head. "How'd I get so lucky?"

Maria smiled dreamily down at their children, then into his soft gold eyes. "I wouldn't call it luck."

"No…." He paused and wrinkled his nose a bit. "More like a miracle, knowing your father." He chuckled a bit, even disregarding a small jab to his ribs.

Maria smiled. "He's not that bad."

"No...he's just..." Chase trailed off.

"He's Shadow."

The orange hedgehog nodded. "Yeah...heh...what've I gotten myself into?" He smiled and nestled against his mate.

* * *

The warm air rose into the sky and curved around the edge of the Floating Island. It darted across the lush jungles, and though it cooled with the night, an artificial or other-worldly influence generated a warmth that nudged the little breeze along. It fluttered through the main streets of Echidnopolis and brushed the curtains to the Guardian's apartment.

"Should I close the window?" Julie-su asked and flicked aside her metal dread.

"If you want." Knuckles shrugged indifferently. He set his grandfather's hat down on the coffee table, then went over to the window and his mate, a small smile forming because of her.

"Well, you shivered," the pink echidna with lavender bangs continued. "Usually you don't do that unless you're…cold, or something's bothering you."

"Now what would bother me, huh? I'm just the Guardian." The red echidna grinned with a slightly fanged expression.

"Lots of things," she replied simply, a coy smile on her own lips. "Let's see, where do we start?" Sarcasm laced her sugary sweet tone, "Suspected legion activities, dingo uprisings, the whole Brotherhood is against you, especially condoning your daughter's--"

Knuckles finally cut her off at that. "Julie..."

"Well, you know it's true." She shrugged. "Anyway, I support you." She attempted to put an arm around him, but he was determined to be as stiff as ever. She knew quite a few tricks for disarming him and lowering his defenses, both in a literal and figurative sense. She'd use them only if he persisted in putting on his typical guardian front. The ex-legionnaire knew him to be a very sensitive character, and his inexperience with women had once upon a time led him to be quite easily distracted.

"Of course you do." He loosened up a bit and slipped his arm around her in turn. "Blitz isn't getting half the flack I do every day, though...I mean, every day I'm being yelled at by Spectre and Locke about allowing her to mate outside the species..." He heaved a sigh and glanced out their apartment window. Even now, he felt like the city shouldn't exist and that his problems would be severely reduced if that were true. Through all the shimmering haze of the city's failed twilight, it was still his home, and as long as it held anyone or anything he loved, he'd go on protecting it.

"Not like you could have prevented it." Julie shrugged.

"I know." He smiled a bit recalling the beginning of their union. "They're just sour because there wasn't a ceremony," Knuckles replied, though he was actually rather proud of their daughter. There were a number of "echidna traditions" he didn't adhere to, and if his daughter was going against the grain, so be it. The Guardian was one of the few individuals on Mobius expected to have a wedding ceremony, and he'd ducked out on it by using a life and death situation as an excuse to solidify their bonds. Of course, he was pleased to have survived the ordeal with her new mate, but the Brotherhood and his father were upset both at missing out on Knuckles' becoming a "man" and, of course, his choice in a mate.

"Probably…speaking of..."

Knuckles winced. "No."

Julie frowned a bit. "You didn't even let me say it."

"You want a ceremony, don't you?" The red echidna sighed in resignation.

"Kind of. It might...well, distract the Brotherhood from hating you, at least." The pink and lavender echidna smiled and took a seat on a nice modern couch, Knuckles soon following her.

He gave a tired smile at her, his purple eyes glinting proudly. "Distracting, huh? Well, I think the only way they'd really be pleased is if we had another egg and it turned out to be male and actually wanted the damn job as Guardian." He laughed a bit at that thought. While his eyes settled on his mate, however, he now noticed a slightly nervous edge to her. '_It was a joke.'_ "That's ridiculous, though. I mean, it's been..."

Julie wrapped her arms around Knuckles and guided one of his gloved hands to her belly; he could feel the impression of a pouch. Echidnas were like marsupials in that they carried their young in a pouch, but the pouch itself was created by contracting muscles, which only activated close to delivery. Suddenly, her weight gain and mood swings made a lot more sense. "I don't know if it will be a girl."

Knuckles laughed a bit, feeling like a complete idiot, though he held Julie close to him and nuzzled her neck affectionately. "You're terrible…hiding things from me."

She laughed a bit in reply, "Hide? Oh honey, you're just as naive as the day I met you." Julie-su smiled and soaked up his affections. "But I've always liked that..."

"I'd like to think I'm a little better than I was," Knuckles replied, his tone having softened noticeably.

"A little," Julie said and kissed the tip of his nose.

* * *

The summer breeze flittered on in its course down the streets of Echidnopolis. It roamed past tall skyscrapers and stirred up pollen in the night blooms. It fluttered across parks where it swirled about the ankles of a pair, but only one was an echidna.

In the pale casting of the moon, the purple hedgehog appeared as though he were as dark a blue as his father, with the light projecting a pale aura on one side. His gemlike eyes were unmistakable, though, as he gazed into the eyes of his lover. Lara-su was very much like her mother, having her lavender bangs, though her fur was more red than pink. Aside some stylistic tendencies she could, in some cases, pass for her mom, but she had her father's signature knuckles and his purple eyes.

The purple hedgehog kept his hands gently on Lara's hips and spoke to her softly as well, "You've never used the air skates, have you?" he inquired.

"No…." Lara replied, a bit shaky on the Extreme Gears he'd given her.

"Relax," Blitz insisted with a smile.

"I'm trying," she said stiffly, frowning a bit even though they were on nearly level ground.

"I'll catch ya, I'm fast," the hedgehog replied confidently. He was very much like his father that way. Nothing seemed to phase him. He was optimistic, cocky, a show off, disrespectful in many ways, yet endearing. For the girl that had captured his heart, he would slow down, and tonight he did so to show her the art of shoe-type Extreme Gears. "It's like rollerblades, but no blades."

The girl took a breath. "I just..."

"A leap of faith, start walking, take a step...make a move...I'm here." He nuzzled her neck gently.

The echidna smiled a bit and sprinted forward. Within a few feet, she felt the spring in her step increase until the Gears floated her above the earth below. Blitz strolled along behind her, watching her gait and giving gentle instruction.

"Whoa...easy...side to side...I'm here…." His voice carried to her in a way that let her know everything she would ever need to know--a voice that said _"I am here. I will always be here. It's only special if we're together."_ With someone like that at her side, she wondered how her family could ever doubt him.

* * *

The wind blew a long way indeed as dawn approached. It kissed the wind chimes that hung by an open window in Kiyo, NiNihon (sometimes called 2nd Japan). The simple chime (shaped to look like Chimecho, a pokémon) alerted at least one guest in the tanuki house.

A white hedgehog with sakura color eyes strode across a tatami mat to the open window. She smiled at the tinkling chime ringing in the dawn. Her footprints were hard to hear by a normal person, though somehow her subtle vibrations rang a chord in the orchid hedgehog, who was awakened simply by her absence at his side. He put an arm around her, rather than a full hug, and the two watched the sunrise in silence for a while.

"Ohayou gozaimasu," the female hedgehog, the color of snow, said quietly after a while.

The other one's ears twitched and caught every vibration of sound, though her lovely voice more often melted like ice cubes in the desert to his impaired hearing. "O...ohayou," he replied after a while. Teaching him Japanese was probably no harder than her learning English. What would be a problem for him was how quiet she was. She moved so gracefully and was so lovely, he'd sworn she was an illusion but that he could hold her. Whether his hearing improved or not, he was learning to hear with his other senses and was now more certain of his own volume. "Lovely morning, isn't it?"

"Bi...beau...beautiful," she replied timidly, her cheeks pink as her eyes. She was like that, Yukiko. She blushed whenever she was afraid of making a mistake, or when she'd actually made one, and because of her own fears, she blushed a lot. She was more, well...everything...than she thought she was, so Rift was determined to give her the confidence her lovely frame sorely needed.

"You said it right." He nodded lightly. The sakura (cherry blossoms) had already fallen, but there were other flowers yet to bloom, and the green after a cold and damp winter was good for the heart.

Soon, the silence was interrupted. It wasn't the birds singing that stole the couple's attention; it was the yelling coming from the kitchen. '_Not again...'_ Rift thought, feeling the thumps and booms shiver through his bones. He held Yukiko close and sighed a bit. "Gohan at Rising Sun Caffé?" he inquired idly.

Yukiko laughed. "They fighting above okonomiyaki," she replied as the two headed for the chaos.

_'Above?'_ Rift thought, trying to break down her half-complete English. '_Oh!'_ "You mean they are fighting _over_ okonomiyaki."

"Hai," she replied in her feather-soft tones.

He kept an eye and an ear to her at all times, and no matter how softly she spoke, he seemed to have heard it. He nodded lightly and smiled for her before they entered the half-destroyed kitchen. "I would like my okonomiyaki with mushrooms and hot sauce please," he said and took a seat, rather, he sat on the floor kneeling by the low table.

An older tanuki wearing a blue robe with white muzzle and darker brown markings stared at him quizzically. "Kinoko to wasabi?"

"He can't _understand_ you, Pops!" A bright yellow tanuki replied, tossing vegetables and rice into a wok. She was wearing more modern clothes, a boombox on the back of her shirt that said "Do the party!" in big bold print.

"_Nihongo, Akiko-chan...! Nihongo!_" he grunted in reply.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'll have him speaking _Eigo_ before he knows it." The yellow tanuki laughed a bit. "Sleep well?" She smiled at her friends.

"Yes…uh…hai," Rift added quickly, noting the beady glare from Natto-san. "Ano...uh...ohayou, Natto-sama..."

The old tanuki's expression shifted to something not quite accepting but more amiable. "_Un. Ohayou, Lift-kun."_

The girl tanuki grimaced a bit at the mispronunciation; she knew it to be intentional to the foreign guest. She just shook her head, though, and continued taking the morning's breakfast orders. "You want some veggie rice with the okonomiyaki?" Akiko asked.

"A little," Rift said. Akiko and her father Natto were certainly loud, a necessity when talking to the half-deaf hedgehog. Still, that wasn't always a blessing.

Yukiko knelt next to Rift by the table and slipped her arm through his. "Tamago to ika to kinoko to ichigo kudasai." Both Akiko and Natto gave the girl an odd look; egg, squid, mushrooms, and strawberries on her Japanese pizza? Weird...

"_Hen daiyou.._.." the yellow tanuki found herself saying, then laughed. As an English major and teacher, she was used to speaking English as much as Japanese. She'd been trying to speak as much English as possible to help Yukiko bridge the gap to her new mate, but it seemed they were good at reading each other with just the barest bits of help. _'I guess love at first sight does exist.'_ "Okay, coming up. Breakfast okonomiyaki for me, heavy on the onions and cheese for Dad, and strawberries on the little snowflakes, and hot sauce for the orchid. Gotcha." She nodded to herself and flipped the rice a last time before pouring the basic okonomiyaki batter on the hot grill at her side.

"Arigatou!" Rift offered and leaned a bit against Yukiko. There were problems, of course, in choosing a love and life miles from his original home, but somehow, he'd make it work. _'Yukiko….'_ his mind said clearly, fully and truly in love.


	2. Checking Out

Normally, the World Gates acted as a barrier as much as a gateway. Nothing could move through it without some force. On either side of the invisible wall that shimmered only lightly when its surface was disturbed, air simply ceased to move. Yet the warm wind that had originated on Mobius passed through it into the streets of Osaka, Japan.

It then flew northward to the edge of the Hokkaido region of Japan, the northernmost island. This was arguably the most beautiful region of Japan, hosting most of its agricultural roots, coldest winters, and unspoiled landscape. It was here in the budding light of day that two hedgehogs walked a dirt road, marked on one side by rice paddies and grassy knolls dotted with farm houses and an old abandoned shrine on the other.

"How did I let you talk me into this?" the male asked darkly. The tan and white yukata his mate had managed to get him into made him feel like he was wearing a dress. It was summer, it was cotton, it wasn't that it felt bad; it was just weird. It felt strange, especially considering his usual tendency to _not_ wear clothing aside his gloves and shoes.

Next to him, the female hedgehog, sky blue with brown bangs and eyes, smiled softly. "You promised me a vacation after Ash moved out," she replied simply. She was dressed in a yukata as well (which looks very much like a kimono but is usually made of cotton rather than silk). Hers was more colorful, with a gradient purple-pink fabric with a few flowers embroidered onto it. "And you know how much I've wanted this," she concluded, enjoying the scenery's sights and smells.

The black and red hedgehog grunted a reply. The warm wind circled their feet and gave him pause somehow. "You didn't say anything about the bath robe..." He scowled a bit. Sara didn't have to look at him to know what he was thinking and hid her own coy grin. "..It itches." He took another step forward, and the wind caught his back. For one shining instant, he was positive a pair of hands had pushed him. 'W_ha?'_

Sara laughed, "Oh Shadow...lift your feet a bit more when you walk. I know you don't like it but you don't have to shuffle, it'll only make things worse."

"I _didn't trip!_" he growled a bit.

Sara sighed as yet another potentially romantic excursion was ruined by their conflicting tastes. It was the suddenly puzzled face that caused her to hesitate. "Shadow? Are you okay? Daijoubu?"

"Yeah…it's nothing..." He paused, but in his mind it wasn't.

_A pair of hands lightly caught Shadow on the back and pushed him forward. He stumbled a few steps and his ear twitched at the laughter filling his ears. "Oh Shadow...!" a female voice had called behind him. It was Maria. It was on the Ark... 'So why now...am I remembering this?'_

"Shadow?" Sara asked again.

The warm summer breeze didn't seem to want to leave this one as it tickled his ear, drawing him back to where he was. "Yeah. What?" His tone softened.

"Sorry, you're not having fun, are you?" She lowered her head a bit.

Shadow took his proper place beside her and draped an arm over her shoulder. "It's okay." He paused a moment, considering Sara and looking into her soft brown eyes. "You like it? ...You've been talking about this for years."

"I do." She leaned against him and gave him a hug. "We'll be home soon enough...and you know Papa can handle Ayame for a little while."

"Yeah." Shadow glanced in the direction the wind had blown, wondering why it played on his mind. _'Maria...?'_ "Come on. Sooner we get where we're going, the sooner I can get out of this _costume."_

"Ahh, now that's more my Shadow-kun." Sara chuckled a bit and walked beside her love.

* * *

The wind now let itself be swept by the natural paths of the globe, somehow relaxed, if that was possible. The rotation of propeller blades cut in as it drifted across the ocean. With seeming interest, the summer breeze picked up speed and followed the plane. It had an unmistakable blue and yellow motif with an orange pair of tails pasted as a logo on it.

In its cockpit, Tails had just set a course for home. It wasn't a test run for any new technology, nothing big, just heading home with a slumbering Fiona on his lap. The pair had visited Hawaii and was heading home. He smiled to himself at having her so close. She was first on his mind, so he absently set course on the autopilot. Their path now set, Tails could relax and pay attention to what he treasured far more than any bobbing hula girl on the dashboard.

* * *

The gentle wind eventually spiraled down after brushing past most of America. It seemed it wanted to linger just a little longer, spurred on by the pairings it had passed. As it floated around the city's edge, it swept past a young male fox with two tails and an apparent Lynx.

"Mmm...feel that?" He smiled warmly as the summer air swept by.

"I think so," the Lynx replied. Her synthetic fur moved realistically with the breeze and she closed her eyes. "You know, it doesn't matter how many sensors you give me, Kit, I'll never be alive."

"I know." The fox nodded. "Still, I can't seem to let it go." He smiled a bit at the Lynx robot.

"Why not?" she inquired.

"I just...feel like you're more than a robot, Kunoichi. So I have to help you." He shrugged. Kunoichi shook her head at him and laughed. "What?" he asked in a slightly offended tone.

"I'm glad you're my friend," she said softly and took his hand, watching his cheeks fill with color. "Just remember there's others who care about you..." She trailed off a moment. "Wasn't there a fox I saw you talking to the other day?"

The color of his cheeks deepened. "I was just helping her with some studying, that's all..." Kit replied nervously.

"I'm sure," Kuno replied.

* * *

Carrying on its way, the gale rattled the curtains of another apartment, one belonging to a bat and a weasel. "Can't you close the window for once?" The lavender weasel partly sneered as he stormed across the room and shut the window harshly.

The white bat, in the middle of watching soap operas, regarded him mildly. "Ahh...you're too stuffy. The breeze would be good for you, dear." She gave a saucy, knowing smile and idly filed her nails. She had a more than attractive figure, though it was a bit more modest these days, in cut jean shorts and a black and pink sleeveless top. Her sandals did have heels on them, though, and she was quite capable of fighting in stilettos if she wanted.

"It's gonna be a hundred degrees today, and you think opening a window would be a good idea? You're crazy," he replied and plucked an old Stetson hat off a coat rack nearby. He then picked the paper off the coffee table and had a seat.

"No crazier than you wearing a hat indoors." She smiled wryly. He growled a little and shoved it down next to him roughly. "Ahh, very mature."

"So what?" He leafed through the pages of the paper. Certain articles caught his interest, most of them revolving around local robberies and such.

"Want to go for a walk?" she interjected.

The fanged weasel lifted his ears to her and considered it. "I told you how hot it's going to be, Rouge."

"True. But we could always duck into a restaurant or something. It's been a while since you've treated me, darling." The bat put down the nail file to stretch over the coffee table and pick up the remote. Her wings fluttered lightly, stretching out from being idle so much. The pose also gave the weasel reason to smile as her features were accented by the clothes.

"I guess," Nack replied in a more gentle tone. "How fancy you thinkin'?" He stood and offered her a hand in a most gentlemanly fashion.

"Oh, nothin' much. Vinnie's maybe?" She slipped an arm through his, pleased he listened to her.

"Not too much, though, you're starting to get a little junk in that trunk." He grinned in spite of being stepped on "accidentally." "I like it, though," he quickly put in and kissed her cheek.

"Now I see why I stuck with you..." Rouge said as the two headed out the apartment door. "You're good at quick recoveries."

* * *

As the midday sun beat down overhead, it touched down on the roof of a cozy ranch-style house. It was fairly typical of houses in that neighborhood, with a couple of trees in the yard, a flower garden, and some lawn furnishings. It had an old swing hanging from one of the branches of an apple tree, though it hardly saw use anymore. The warm breeze, which had started on Mobius, now made the swing sway, and encircled the two hedgehogs who owned the house.

The pink-furred one was carrying a tray with two glasses of pink lemonade out to a patio table, where a blue hedgehog was waiting. "Here you go, Sonic." She smiled brightly.

"Thanks, Amy," Sonic said in reply, taking the glass and a subsequent drink. It was really nice out, and the breeze gave him some measure of comfort. While he would have enjoyed the winds running through his quills wildly, this was the first time he'd been out of the house in some time without a cane or some other support.

"You want to go for a walk?" Amy asked, anticipating his roaming eyes. They were staring at the peaks of mountains set behind their house and the tall skyscrapers of the city on the other side. There was a time when he could scale them in a second, but it would still be a while until he got to that point.

"Sure I won't fall apart?" He gave a lopsided smile.

"Oh Sonic..." She was still a little apprehensive about his healing. Sonic wasn't known for his patience, and the months spent inside had just about eaten him alive. Of course, trying to cope with that and a nearly deaf son had taken its toll, and were the reason the blue blur had purposely slowed himself down.

Sonic set the glass down and stood up from the table. Amy kept her eyes on him the whole time as the hedgehog stretched his legs. "Yeah, I think I can go a few steps." There was a gleam in his eyes as one about to bolt, but he didn't. "So how about we check on Chris and Helen?" he said casually as he stretched his arms. There was a slight twinge in his back, but nothing like what he'd been through about a month ago.

"That's halfway across the city!" Amy complained, but she saw the look in his rich emerald eyes. '_Only for you, Sonic...' _"Oh fine." She took a quick sip of her lemonade, then frowned, "What about the drinks I just made?"

The blue hedgehog shrugged and began heading to the edge of the property. The summer breeze coiled around him again, and it made him smile. "Let the flies have it." Amy heaved a sigh then rushed up to her love.

The two walked arm in arm down the white sidewalks into the city. It was a slow pace from what Sonic was used to, but the breeze kept after them, tickling their faces and running with them. As they reached the Thorndyke mansion and the familiar faces of bright-eyed Chris Thorndyke and his wife Helen, the wind left them. Sonic glanced back at where the wind had headed to, feeling as though something familiar had just passed through.

"Sonic! Coming in?" Chris asked in his typical cheerful mood.

"Yeah!" Sonic smiled and headed into the mansion.

* * *

The breeze floated lazily once more before it winked out, a thought carried upon it in the soft tones of a girl who'd lived only a short while._ 'So these are the lives you touched…. I was worried about you...I guess it was for nothing. Sayonara...Shadow!'_

-The end.


End file.
